Overview
Docent Academy Documents:
TRHP 2024 Docent Academy Class List – 2024.02.29.pdf
TRHP 2024 Docent Academy Class Contact List – 2024.03.05.xlsx
Docent Academy I Flyer 2024 and 2023 Testimonials
Thames River Heritage Park:
Interpreter’s Guide to Thames River Heritage Park – DA 2024.02.26 – a guide to Park with a resource listing and bibliography for further individual reading and exploration.
Thames River Heritage Park – YouTube Channel – includes the following videos and more:
- Partners in History – a narrated overview of key heritage sites on the Thames
- Historic Sites of Thames River Heritage Park
- Lectures
- A Vision from the Past – a “new” London on the Thames – CT State Historian Walt Woodward
- Strength, Resilience and Accomplishment … Celebrating Black Heritage on the Thames – Tom Schuch and Nicole Thomas, New London Black Heritage Trail
- Remembering Irish and Exploring Present Day Immigration on the Thames – Leslie Evans, Avery-Copp House Museum
- The President’s Desk … The Story of the Resolute
- Suffragettes, School Teachers, and Socialites … Women of the Thames = Gail MacDonald
- Eugene O’Neill’s New London – Rob Richter, Author, Professor, Consultant and Connecticut College, Director of Arts Programming
- Thames River Heritage Park Quests
Week 1: Mohegan Life, Fort Trumbull and an Overview of Colonial Times to Present
MOHEGAN TRIBE
Docent Academy 2024 – Week 1 – Mohegan Presentation by Joe Smith
History
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/explore/heritage/our-history
Cultural Outreach
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/community/involvement/cultural-outreach
Native American Lesson Plans
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/community/education/lesson-plans
Native American Resources
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/community/education/relevant-links
First Indian War aka King Phillip’s War
Our Beloved Kin by Lisa Brooks
https://yale.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.12987/yale/9780300196733.001.0001/upso-9780300196733
https://ourbelovedkin.com/awikhigan/index
Pequot War – 1636-1637
http://pequotwar.org/about/
https://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/pequot-war/
https://www.colonialwarsct.org/1637.htm
Videos:
The Mark of Uncas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDSVulkCWY
The Mark of Uncas – Cohegan Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ww94_L8v4
Tantaquidgeon Museum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDSVulkCWY&t=2819s
NEW LONDON
Docent Academy 2024 – Week 1 – Thames History Overview Presentation by Deborah Donovan
Docent Academy 2023 – Week 1 – Thames History Overview Presentation by Deborah Donovan
Docent Academy 2022 – Week 1 – Colonial to Contemporary Times – an outline by New London Historian Sally Ryan.
History of New London Connecticut: from the first survey of the coast in 1612 to 1860 by Frances Manwaring Caulkins. Available for sale at NLCHS (normally $60 available to Docent Academy participants for $36), or for loan at the Public Library of NL and Groton Library.
History of New London County, Connecticut with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men compiled under the supervision of D. Hamilton Hurd – 1882.
FORT TRUMBULL
Fort Trumbull Vision – Yale Urban Design Workshop – September 2011
Week 2: Colonial Life on the Thames
https://www.nlchs.org
https://www.ctvisit.com/listings/old-town-mill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winthrop_Mill
Week 3: American Revolutionary War on the Thames
Directions to UConn Lowell B. Weicker Building – Seminar Room 101: UConn – LWB 103 seminar room.docx
Fort Griswold Battlefield and State Park
https://www.fortgriswold.org
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Parks/Fort-Griswold-Battlefield-State-Park/Overview
The Battle of Groton Heights and the Burning of New London
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/stateparks/parks/TheBattleofGrotonHeightsandtheBurningofNewLondonpdf.pdf
Ebenezer Avery House
https://averymemorialassociation.com/ebavery.htm
https://www.fortgriswold.org/the-ebenezer-avery-house/
Bill Memorial Library
https://www.billmemorial.org
Griswold by Charles Allyn – The definitive collection of accounts of the Battle of Groton Heights.
The Battle of Groton Heights: A Story of the Storming of Fort Griswold and the Burning of New London on the Sixth of September 1781 by Norman Hammond Burnham (Author), Rufus Avery (Author), Avery Downer (Author) – includes The Narrative of Rufus Avery from the original manuscript and other interesting matter
handsomely illustrated by full-page engravings.
Jordan Freeman Was My Friend by Richard White – set against the backdrop of the American Revolution and based on a the real-life 1781 massacre at Fort Griswold in Connecticut, this fictional book tells the story about a friendship between eleven-year-old Billy Latham and former slave Jordan Freeman.
Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5EdHVPXulg
The Battle of Fort Griswold by David Rose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHVwGU-pBgU
Fort Griswold // Connecticut’s Cultural Treasures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCrOafzl35w
Fort Griswold Battlefield
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=108D7RXaMis
Fort Griswold – Groton Tercentennial Lecture Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ2NFCuQu48
Week 4: The Amistad Story and Whaling Industry on the Thames
Whaling on the Thames
New London Custom House home of the New London Custom House Maritime Museum and the New London Maritime Society
Whaling out of New London – The Second Largest Whaling Port IN THE WORLD in the Middle of the Nineteenth Century– New London County Historical Society
Whaling and Desutschland Resources courtesy of Deborah Donovan
The Rise and Fall of Sealing in Early New London Industry – ConnecticutHistory.org, CT Humanities
TRHP Whaling Tour Photos
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/boat-tours/photos-whaling/
Passcode: whaling
The Shipwreck and Eventual Rescue of the Crew of the Bark Trinity
The Amistad Story on the Thames
Amistad Books that Education, Entertain, Empower
The Amistad – How it Began – National Park Service
Travel the Amistad Freedom-Seeking Story, Connecticut – National Park Service
Week 5: Immigration Story on the Thames / Engaging Your Audience
Irish Immigration Story on the Thames
Avery-Copp House Museum
https://www.averycopphouse.org
Avery-Copp House Museum – Docent Academy Program
thamesriverheritagepark.org/…/Docent-Academy-Avery-Copp-House-Museum-Program.pdf
Public Speaking Tips
THRP Docent Academy – Speaking Skills Outline by Toastmaster’s Charlotte LaVesseur
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/THRP-Docent-Academy-Speaking-Skills-Outline.pdf
Videos:
- Public Speaking for Beginnersby Alex Lyon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5mYphUoOCs
- The Power of Words by Mohammed Qahtani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqq1roF4C8s
- 6 Public Speaking Tips to Hook Any Audience by Charlie from Charism on Command using The Power of Words by Mohammed Qahtaini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8GvTgWtR7o
Guiding People with Special Needs
Disability Etiquette – Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities
https://www.unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf
New London Black Heritage Trail
https://visitnewlondon.org/black-heritage-trail/
New London Black Heritage Trail – 1 Page Map and Guide
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Docent-Academy-Resource-NL-Black-Heritage-Trail-Map.pdf
Week 6: The Gilded Age and Fine Arts (LAAM) on the Thames / Learning Styles
Gilded Age on the Thames 1870-1900
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
https://www.lymanallyn.org
Monte Cristo Cottage
https://www.theoneill.org/mcc – in addition to general information on the cottage, this page includes an extensive list of resources on O’Neill
Eugene O’Neill Resource List
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Eugene-ONeill-Resources.pdf – listing of resources on Eugene O’Neill compiled by Deborah Donovan
Videos:
Eugene O’Neill’s New London: Stories from the Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWO_YUYlCa8
Pequot Chapel
https://www.pequotchapel.org
Pequot Colony District – 1852 – 1930
livingplaces.com/…/Pequot_Colony_Historic_District
Learning Styles
Week 7: The Military on the Thames
U.S. Navy on the Thames
Submarine Force Library & Museum / U.S.S. Nautilus
https://ussnautilus.org
Deutschland Epilogue (as of 2003)
First Submarine heading up the Thames – Circa 1916
U.S. Coast Guard on the Thames
US Coast Guard Academy History
CT History – Founding of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Coast Guard Station New London
Future National Coast Guard Museum
Future National Coast Guard Museum – Why NL
Electric Boat
Week 8: New London Black Heritage Trail / The Visitor Experience
New London Black Heritage Trail
https://visitnewlondon.org/black-heritage-trail/
New London Black Heritage Trail – 1 Page Map and Guide
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Docent-Academy-Resource-NL-Black-Heritage-Trail-Map.pdf
A Discourse: Delivered at the Funeral of Mr. Ichabod Pease, (a Man of Color) In St. James’ Church, New-London, March 5th, 1842 (Classic Reprint) by Robert A. Hallam.
The Visitor Experience
5 Ways to Make Your Historic House Museum Visitors Feel at Home (Even with Uncomfortable Topics)
4 Ways Historic House Museums Can Create More Meaningful Visitor Experiences
Week 9: Pulitzer & Nobel Prize Playwright, Performing Arts and Culture on the Thames
Garde Arts Center
https://gardearts.org
The Garde Story
https://gardearts.org/about/#history
New London Cultural District
https://www.facebook.com/newlondonculturaldistrict/
New London Arts Council
https://www.newlondonartscouncil.org/
Eugene O’Neill
Eugene O’Neill Biography – The Nobel Prize
Eugene O’Neill’s Connecticut Connections
Videos:
Eugene O’Neill’s New London – Stories from the Park by Rob Richter
Eugene O’Neill, Revolutionary Playwright – American Experience, PBS
The Hunted and The Haunted: Reflections on Eugene O’Neill with Dr. Gary Vena
Week 10: FORT TRUMBULL / Graduation
Fort Trumbull
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/fort-trumbull/
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Parks/Fort-Trumbull-State-Park
Friends of Fort Trumbull
https://www.fortfriends.org
GRADUATION
Docent Academy Graduation Program – 2022
Docent Academy Slide Show – 2022
Share Your Photos with Us
Upload your photos from the Docent Academy for closing slide show and for use in social media and promotional materials.
Photo / File Upload – https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/photo-upload/
Social Media / YouTube / Trip Advisor
If you are on social media, please be sure to follow Thames River Heritage Park and to like, comment about, and share the Park’s posts.
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thamesriverheritagepark
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thamesriverheritagepark/
- LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/58334526/
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/ThamesRiverPark
- Like the Park’s YouTube page –https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW471rmFFn3gOE88q1QJtdg
Write a review about the Park and it’s heritage sites in Trip Advisor –https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33852-d12262029-Reviews-Thames_River_Heritage_Park-New_London_Mystic_Country_Connecticut.html